Heritage India

There are many Indian restaurants in the DC area. We were looking for Northern Indian to start with and found this restaurant through the Post. The review cautioned that the food is very good but the sevice can be a bit slow; so we were wary. When we told our waiter, who also seemed to be a manager of some sort, about our little project he was more than happy to help. He steered us toward the best examples of Northern Indain cuisine.

There actually were some interesting yogurt beverages here. The yogurt drinks (lassi) can be ordered sweet or salty. The kids went with sweet and mango sweet. They are too filling to be a beverage in my opinion but would be a refreshing snack; somewhat like a tangy smoothie. Julian got a Taj Majal beer light and tasty with the spicy food. I chose and Austrailian Viognier to go with my meal.

The appetizers suggested were a great introduction; a sampling of different tastes and textures. That was the first thing we noticed about the food. The preparations seem to be all about contrast not only of flavors; spicy and sweet, but also textures; smooth dishes always had a crunchy element.

Bhelpuri, Dhai Bhalle and Gogappas. The Belpuri is like rice cripsies mixed with chickpeas and vermicelli noodles tossed with a tangy spicy dressing topped with peanuts for crunch. Immediately we notice that the flavor combinations are completely different from what Americans are used to. The yogurt sauce on the Dahi Balle is a very nice cooling element to the dish. By far the most unusual are the Golgappas. It is a puffy dumpling with a chickpea mixture. Each dumpling has its own spoon. You pour sauce into a hole in the top of the dumpling and put the whole thing in your mouth at once. Our server was amused at how we were trying to be neat when eating it and making a mess in the process. He decided to help us out. I would have loved to see that on video.






We had heard that the butter chicken (murgh makhani) is the best in DC and it did not disappoint. It seems simple chicken in a butter and tomato sauce. It is perfectly spiced: a bit of heat with a great balance. Julian got tandoor lamb chops which are tender and a bit spicy. He chose not to go with the Vindaloo because our server said it is too hot for him and he should be used to it because he is Indian after all. John got Dum Ka Murgh is chicken with a yogurt Garam Masala sauce. Not too spicy just delicious. My Aloo Gobi Masala (Potatoes and Cauliflower) is quite spicy. I needed yogurt sauce from time to time to cool my tongue. The rice accompaniment is delicious; topped with a sprinkle of golden raisins and peanuts for crunch.


We try to save room for dessert and we barely had room. We got Gulab Jamoon: milk dumplings in a rose water honey syrup, normally not my type of thing, but it is delicious and not as heavy as it may sound. We also tried the Shahi Tukra (rice pudding) very fancy served with a silver leaf.